


ribs

by spider_momo



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: 5+1 Things, F/M, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Yuki enjoying life, more roasting of shigure than i expected but what can u do, sohmas are a family :D, that's pretty much it yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:54:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24012406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spider_momo/pseuds/spider_momo
Summary: five times yuki laughs freely (+1 time he holds it in)
Relationships: Honda Tohru & Sohma Yuki, Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou, Kuragi Machi/Sohma Yuki, Sohma Kyou & Sohma Yuki
Comments: 33
Kudos: 132





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my first furuba fic and for a kyo stan i sure love yuki a lot huh? i just want my little rat boy to be happy :')
> 
> anyway, yes this is just a series of short ficlets in which yuki is happy, laughing with the people he loves!
> 
> enjoy!

It’s a nice day, Yuki absentmindedly notes. It’s warm and bright, a gentle breeze pushing fluffy white clouds across the blue sky and causing the leaves on trees to rustle softly. Yuki looks upward, squinting slightly at the brightness from the sun and inhales deeply. The earthy smell of soil and slightly damp grass settles within him, bringing a calm, refreshing feeling with it. 

Yuki returns his attention back to the field in front of him. He flexes his gloved fingers a few times before picking up the next tomato seedling and gently placing it into the hole he had dug out for it. Using his fingers and his hand shovel he covers the roots up with soil, making sure the plant settles in upright. With the pads of his fingers and the back of his shovel, Yuki presses down on the dark soil until it’s packed with the right amount of firmness. Lastly, Yuki grabs the small paper tag that is aptly labelled _Roma tomatoes_ and sticks it into the soft dirt in front of the row of tomato plants, admiring his neat work for a moment. 

Yuki dusts some dirt off of his gloves and is about to move to tend to the other plants when a gentle weight is put upon his head and his view becomes slightly obscured. Yuki tilts his head upwards to find Machi diligently adjusting the straw sunhat she had placed on his head. 

She pauses, her eyes locking onto his. 

Machi says nothing, as her fingers move to fix the hat, tilting it backwards so Yuki could see properly. Yuki looks down at his shadow, noting the large flowers and a flowing ribbon decorating the side of the hat. He’s fairly certain Tohru has a sunhat of this design. 

“You’ll get sunburnt otherwise,” Machi explains when Yuki looks up to her again. 

“Thank you,” Yuki smiles.

Machi crouches down so they’re at eye level, “And you never remember to put on sunscreen,” she adds with seriousness. 

“It’s good that I have my wonderful Machi to remind me then,” Yuki gives her another smile, biting the inside of his cheek when Machi tries to hide her own smile. Instead, she looks at the newly planted tomatoes, blowing some of her bangs out of her face. 

“Be more careful,” Machi insists, “You at how pale you are, you’ll get red and burnt so quickly,” Machi reaches a hand out to pinch Yuki’s pale cheek. It doesn't hurt but Yuki pouts at her anyway. 

“Then from now on will Machi apply sunscreen on me?”

Machi reaches with her other hand, pinching Yuki’s other cheek with a bit more force this time, “Don’t be so shameless,” and Yuki refrains from pointing out which one of them has turned red so quickly when Machi releases him and hides behind her hair. 

“Tomatoes?” Machi asks, her index finger brushing against the seedling’s small leaves. 

“Mm,” Yuki nods. And despite Machi not being particularly interested in gardening, she watches him work anyway, asking Yuki questions every now and then, attentively listening to his answers even though they’re probably long-winded and overly wordy. It’s nice, Yuki thinks, and he glances in Machi’s direction, watching how she crouches at the edge of the field, poking at the loose dirt distractedly. 

_Cute_ , Yuki smiles, looking away. 

“Machi?” He calls out when he’s nearly done with the field for the day. Machi looks up at Yuki, head tilted to the side slightly as she waits for him to ask his question. 

“Is there anything you want me to plant for you?” Yuki asks, “Tohru requests for strawberries each year and Momiji asks for carrots and Shigure likes zucchini. What does Machi like?”

Machi pauses to think for a moment while Yuki gathers up all his tools, watching her out of the corner of his eye. 

“I’m...not sure,” Machi says finally. It’s not distressed or upset though, and Yuki is glad she isn’t forcing herself to come up with an answer. 

“That’s alright,” Yuki says, packing his tools up neatly, “I’ll just have to plant everything so you can pick your favourite.”

“Everything?” Machi asks with a small smile as she kneels in front of him. Machi carefully removes the gardening gloves from his hands, setting them aside. Her thumb runs over the pale skin of his wrists, tracing over the blue-ish veins that are more prominent now in the spring heat. 

“Of course,” Yuki nods sagely, “Every vegetable and fruit in the whole world, I’ll grow for you.”

“Hmm,” Machi nods her head, cool hands moving downwards to clasp Yuki’s warmer ones, “I prefer meat though,” she smiles at him warmly but Yuki sees the look in her eyes, the twitch in the corner of her mouth.

“Well, that’s not very healthy, Machi.”

She laughs, shoulders shaking gently so that Yuki can feel it all the way down to their intertwined fingers. Yuki can’t help but to join in, their light laughter mingling harmoniously with the cheery chirps of the birds and the gentle rustling of the trees. 

“Whatever you grow, I will happily eat,” Machi says with a nod of her head. 

“How kind of you.”

“Oh, it’s the least I can do,” Machi drawls, her hands releasing his and reaching up to cup his cheeks, “Yuki?” and Yuki’s heart always skips a beat when she says his name like that, when she looks right at him like that. 

“Mm?”

“You look really pretty in that hat,” Machi squishes his cheeks a bit, smiling brightly at him. 

“You look really pretty with dirt on your face,” Yuki smiles back. Machi pauses, making a sound of confusion which turns into a squeak of surprise when Yuki’s thumb swipes a bit of dirt across her cheek, leaving a brownish streak on her soft skin. 

“Let’s go inside,” Yuki stands up swiftly, smiling despite Machi’s narrowed eyes following him. It vaguely reminded Yuki of how an alligator would sit there motionless, tracking its prey with its eyes, before suddenly pouncing. 

“Fine,” Machi says, releasing the fistful of dirt she had already grabbed. She uses his arm to stand up, “But, Yuki. I didn’t know you were such a coward.” 

Yuki laughs as he tugs Machi back inside, away from the midday sun, “Please go easy on this coward, oh powerful and merciful Machi.” 

“I guess I have no choice then,” Machi says, and she’s laughing right along with him as they go back into the house, hand-in-hand, for lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> at first I thought Machi would be super hard to write but she surprisingly came easy and i found myself wanting to stick her into every other chapter lol
> 
> also, don't ask me about timelines, this all occurs in some post-canon limbo okay?
> 
> leave a comment to let me know what you think!<3  
> i have the rest of the chapters planned out and will be updating soon!
> 
> find me on tumblr @spider-momo or follow my [twitter](https://twitter.com/petiteshoyo)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what is mogeta even about bc i sure as heck don't know :D

_Tohru. It’s for Tohru._

That was the only thought Yuki let himself focus on when Tohru cheerfully suggested they have a movie night earlier that week. 

It’s again, the only thing he chants through his mind, as he answers the door to greet Haru and Rin, the couple being the last to arrive. While Haru looks indifferent as always, Yuki can tell that Rin is reciting a mantra similar to his own in her head. 

“Mogeta movie marathon. How _fun_ ,” she says in lieu of a greeting. 

“So fun!” Momiji calls out from the living room. Yuki wonders if he’s oblivious to the resigned energy of the room or simply choosing to ignore it. Out of the 8 of them, only Tohru, Momiji, and Kisa seem to actually be excited, and Hiro is probably excited too but just acting like he isn’t. Meanwhile, Yuki, Kyo, Haru, and Rin settle into the room, all hoping for the night to pass by quickly. 

They’ve commandeered Shigure’s living room, with Shigure being out of town for the weekend. The usually tidy area now filled with soft blankets and plush pillows, the table stocked with all sorts of snacks and drinks. Yuki notices how there was something each of them liked, Tohru having undoubtedly made sure of that fact. Yuki feels a small pang of guilt for being so apathetic the whole day when Tohru worked so hard and diligently to plan everything. 

“Let’s get started then!” Tohru smiles, grabbing the remote and settling down. And that’s when Yuki realizes that getting up to answer the door, in a not-so-subtle attempt to get a break from the excited chattering about Mogeta, was a mistake. 

Everyone has already taken their seats: Rin sitting in Haru’s lap, who sits next to Momiji, who is next to Hiro who refused to sit anywhere but next to Kisa, and Kisa sitting to the left of Tohru, and of course that meant Tohru’s right is occupied by Kyo. Which means the only available spot for Yuki was next to _him_. 

Wonderful.

Yuki sighs as he flicks the lights off and takes his seat next to Kyo, determined not to make a scene. And why should he? All he’s doing is sitting and watching the movie. It’ll be fine. 

And it is fine. Yuki watches the movie, still very much confused as to what the plot of Mogeta is even supposed to be, and his knee brushes against Kyo’s a few times or sometimes his elbow against Kyo’s arm. And nothing happens. Just a perfectly normal movie night with his family. 

It becomes less fine when, about an hour into the movie, both Kyo and he reach for the same box of blueberry Pocky. The room is only illuminated by the dim light from the TV, but Yuki can see Kyo’s expression very clearly when they lock eyes, hands both still grabbing the small box. 

There was a time when this interaction alone would have already caused Kyo to be screaming at him and Yuki would have been retorting with his own scathing remarks and they’d probably fight and fight until someone pulled them apart and movie night would be ruined and they’d both go brood alone, filled with resentment, regret, and guilt until they apologized to Tohru who’d insist it’s ok, just like she always did. That was the worst part, Yuki thinks. Whenever, Tohru would just smile and say it’s ok, hiding away her disappointment. 

But now, Yuki would be sure that would never happen again. 

He immediately retracts his hand back, offering the Pocky to Kyo with a smile. Yuki turns his attention back to the screen, slightly relieved the incident is over, when something is shoved into his chest. Yuk looks down to see the blueberry Pocky and Kyo’s hand pushing it into his chest. Yuki turns to look at Kyo, one hand gently cradling the box so it doesn’t fall into his lap. 

“You can have it,” Kyo whispers, “I didn’t even want it that much.”

Yuki tilts his head and he realizes that Kyo’s trying too. Just like Yuki is.

“It’s fine,” Yuki whispered back, opening the top of the box before handing it back to Kyo. 

Kyo whips his head to look at him, “I gave it to you, I don’t want it,” he hisses, shoving the box back to Yuki.

“And I’m giving it to you,” Yuki presses the box back into Kyo’s hand, “just take it.”

“No,” Kyo glares, pushing the box to Yuki, “I don’t want it.”

“You just did?” 

“Not anymore.”

“Eat it,” Yuki hisses grabbing a stick out of the box and shoving it into Kyo’s mouth, because old habits are harder to shake off than you might think. Kyo retaliates by grabbing a handful of Pocky sticks and shoving them all into Yuki’s mouth. The two of them thrust their hands into each other’s faces, trying to force the other to eat the Pocky, no longer remembering to keep quiet.

“Stop it!” Their hands pause when they hear Tohru’s cry. Someone gets up and turns the light on, the movie is paused, and a stiff silence settles upon the room after the light illuminates the scene of Yuki and Kyo forcing Pocky sticks down each other’s throats. 

“Wow,” Haru says after a moment, “you guys play the Pocky game really weirdly,” 

And before Yuki can even attempt to try to explain this situation, something he never imagined happening occurs: Tohru yells at them.

“Just one night! That’s all I wanted! Can’t you two dumbheads just sit quietly and watch a movie for one night!?” 

It’s silent again, the seven Sohmas all looking at Tohru with awed or shocked expressions. Tohru herself seems to realize what had happened and she slaps a hand over her mouth, eyes wide.

Yuki and Kyo turn to look at each other, their hands still holding the Pocky sticks. The blueberry Pocky box is laying on the floor between them, a few sticks having fallen out. Broken pieces and crumbs cover their laps and Yuki sees a longer piece that somehow managed to get into Kyo’s hair. 

They stare at each other for another second, grey eyes locking onto orange ones, before they both can no longer contain themselves and burst into a fit of laughter. 

Everyone else follows, the room full of loud laughter and soft giggles, until it’s just Tohru sitting in quiet confusion. 

“Tohru, that’s the first time I’ve seen you get so mad at anyone,” Yuki manages to say, his cheeks already feeling sore from laughing and smiling.

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to yell,” Tohru panics, waving her hands in the air. 

“No way! Tohru you should yell at those dumbheads more often,” Rin declares. 

“Yeah, serves them right for interrupting the movie!” Hiro jeers. 

“Even when she’s mad, Tohru is still adorable!” Momiji adds.

“Onee-chan was super cute!” Kisa nods. 

Tohru covers her face in embarrassment as the rest of them agree that Tohru is still the cutest even when she’s scolding them. 

“Ah, l-let’s just finish the movie!” Tohru cries, standing up, “But you two!” She looks between Yuki and Kyo, hands on her hips. 

“We’re sorry!” Yuki and Kyo chorus, attempting to hold back their laughter again.

“You two can’t sit next to each other anymore,” she says with finality. 

“Why? Are you going to yell at us again?” Kyo teases. 

“I think my heart actually stopped for a second,” Yuki adds, hiding his laughter behind his fist when Tohru flushes again.

She continues to pout as she tugs Kyo, pulling him into her old spot and settles in between them. She picks up two pieces of fallen Pocky, one in each hand, and pushes them into Yuki and Kyo’s mouths. 

“Let’s just watch the movie now,” Tohru says again, but she can’t keep the smile off her face either. 

Yuki likes to think that movie night was an overall success. 

(Although, despite watching three different Mogeta movies, he walks away more confused than ever.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tohru is a cutie at all times, that's just a fact. 
> 
> only kyo and yuki would start a fight while trying /not/ to start a fight, haha those dumbheads. 
> 
> next chapter should be up in a couple of days!
> 
> please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! <3
> 
> find me on tumblr @spider-momo or follow my [twitter](https://twitter.com/petiteshoyo)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kyo + kittens = cuteness overload

Yuki for sure thinks he’s hallucinating. 

Yep, that’s gotta be it. A hallucination. The byproduct of his admittedly rather disastrous behaviour during midterm week: a mixture of his sorry excuse of a sleep schedule, the crash after eating nothing but junk food filled with exorbitant amounts of sugar, and one too many late nights spent pouring over notes and rereading his textbooks until his brain could no longer register the words his eyes were reading. 

So yes, for a solid two minutes Yuki stands there, blinking every so often, sure that the sight before him is just proof his mind has finally snapped. 

But the image won’t go away no matter how many times he blinks or rubs at his eyes. 

“Alright, so I’m about 85% sure _I_ haven’t gone crazy,” Yuki approaches the scene, “but I can’t say the same for you.”

Kyo’s head whips up to look at Yuki, eyes widening in shock. 

“What are you doing here?” he demands, a familiar scowl and glare combo making its way onto his face. Yuki is hardly fazed. 

“It’s the second Thursday,” is Yuki’s succinct reply. But it’s telling enough. Every second Thursday of the month Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru have dinner at Shigure’s house, it’s a tradition of sorts. Occasionally, other Sohmas will join in when they are available, but those three show up no matter what. It was Tohru’s idea (obviously); the sentimental girl missing the memories they all shared in that place and thus decided a monthly dinner would be a wonderful idea. It was likely unnecessary because apparently the Sohmas were a pretty clingy, sentimental bunch themselves. Yuki could hardly go three days without seeing at least one of his family members. 

But, Tohru asked them to do this and Tohru’s words were law. Besides, Yuki would never say no to a Tohru-cooked meal. 

So, the second Thursday. Hence why Yuki was on his way to Shigure’s house right now, after finishing his last class of the day. He was almost there, already psyching himself up to walk up those bazillion stairs on his tired feet. 

But then, half-hidden in the bushes on the street below the stairs, Yuki saw Kyo. Yuki wonders if it’s too late for him to just leave and pretend he saw nothing. 

_Alright, Stairs of Hell or stop Kyo from doing something stupid? Which is the lesser evil?_

Yuki glances in the direction of the stone stairs and then back at Kyo. 

_God, I hate those stairs..._

“What are _you_ doing?” Yuki asks with a resigned sigh because he _knows_ the answer is something stupid and troublesome but he has to ask anyway. 

“Nothing!” Kyo continues to scowl at him, hunching over a bit more in his crouched position, so Yuki can’t see whatever is in his arms. 

“Fine then,” Yuki remains expressionless, “I’ll just go tell Tohru not to wait up for you since you’re very clearly busy being a total creep—” 

“Don’t tell Tohru!” Kyo’s eyes widen in panic. Yuki raises an eyebrow, mind trying to work out what Kyo could possibly be hiding from his beloved Tohru. An injury? Maybe, but why is he in the bushes then?

Yuki steps closer, trying to peer over Kyo’s hunched shoulders, “Why? What did you do?”

“I didn’t _do_ anything, okay? Just go, I’ll be there in a bit!” Kyo insists, contorting his body to keep Yuki from seeing. 

But that doesn’t stop Yuki from hearing.

Soft mewling sounds come from behind the bushes. But in the quiet evening atmosphere, Yuki can hear the faint whines clear as day. 

Yuki crosses his arm and raises an eyebrow at Kyo, waiting for an answer.

“Would you believe me if I said that was my stomach?” 

Yuki shoots Kyo a deadpan expression and pulls out his phone, “I guess I’ll call Tohru—”

“Okay, okay! Fine. Here, come see.” 

Yuki slowly creeps closer, pulling back some of the foliage to get a better look. And in the soft grass behind the bushes are three, fluffy kittens. They stumble a bit as they paw at each other and flick their tails into the air, meowing softly. 

“Kittens,” is all Yuki manages to say. 

“Yes, genius. They’re kittens,” Kyo rolls his eyes and Yuki thinks that he’s taking a pretty brave tone for a guy who was hiding in the bushes two minutes ago. 

Kyo offers no further explanation and there are several questions ringing through Yuki’s mind, such as _what the actual fuck Kyo???_ , but Yuki settles on: “Why can’t we tell Tohru?”

Kyo blinks at Yuki with an unimpressed stare as if _Yuki_ is the one making no sense right now. 

“You know how she is. She’ll take one look at them and get all weepy and start crying. And then she’ll insist on helping and then get attached and then get weepy and start crying _again_ and _then_ how am I supposed to find them a home?” 

Yuki pauses, taking a moment to process all that information. He’s fairly certain that if he spent even a whole lifetime with Kyo, he’d never be able to understand the other boy’s thought process. 

One of the kittens, a dark grey one with big round eyes, approaches Yuki’s feet, sniffing curiously. Yuki watches it paw at his shoes but when the kitten notices it’s being watched it dashes back to Kyo’s side, clambering into Kyo’s lap. 

“So...” Kyo says hesitantly after a few more moments of silence, “you’re not going to tell Tohru right?” 

And maybe Yuki really has totally lost it and gone bonkers because the sight of Kyo sitting in the grass, looking up at Yuki pitifully, with three tiny kittens climbing onto his limbs brings a rush of warmth to his chest and then Yuki finds himself bending over and laughing his heart out. 

“The hell are you laughing at?’ Kyo demands. 

“You...you’re…” Yuki tries to get the words out but laughter keeps bubbling up in his chest. Yuki lets himself laugh for a few more seconds before he manages to calm himself down finally, “Ah, how _cute_.”

“Huh?” Kyo looks at him bewildered. 

“Let me take a picture,” Yuki opens his phone camera up, angling it at Kyo and his lapful of adorable kittens. 

“Hey, quit it!” Kyo shouts, attempting to block Yuki’s camera. 

“Oh, come on. It’ll make _Shihan_ so happy,” Yuki insists, laughter escaping him once again. 

“You wanna die, you damn rat!?”

“Smile~”

“I’ll kill you!”

“Ooh, I am thoroughly afraid. The kittens are a very menacing touch.” 

“Yu—”

“Kyo-kun? Yuki-kun?” Their squabble comes to an end when they see Tohru approaching. 

“I heard yelling and laughter, so I— _omigosh!_ Are those kittens?”

“Oh, great,” Kyo flops onto his back, knowing there was no escaping it now. 

“They’re so cute, Kyo! Aw, can we keep them?”

“I hate you,” Kyo lifts his head to glare at Yuki as Tohru continues to coo over the kittens and Yuki continues to laugh and take more pictures. 

Eventually, Yuki has to walk up the damned stairs anyway but the journey feels a lot less tedious as he walks alongside Tohru and Kyo, watching as Kyo’s face turns red as Tohru gushes over the adorable pictures Yuki took.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> canNOT believe those kids went up and down those stairs every single day... their calves must be so toned. 
> 
> cats coming to throw themselves at kyo was one of my favourite details and i am a firm believer kyo has a soft spot for them no matter what he says
> 
> i really wish we got to see more of how yuki and kyo's relationship developed post-curse!
> 
> leave a comment, they warm my heart~ <3
> 
> find me on tumblr @spider-momo or follow my [twitter](https://twitter.com/petiteshoyo)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in which yuki is a loving/whipped boyfriend and there are cookies.

Yuki knows it was his own idea, that he’s the one who suggested it (because apparently even Yuki has momentary relapses in judgement from time to time). But then again, it doesn’t really matter who started it because Yuki also knows it was Machi who ruined it. 

“ _Teaspoon_ , Machi! _One teaspoon_.”

“I _did_ do one.”

“You put in one _tablespoon_.”

“...What’s the difference?” 

Yuki can only respond with a high-pitched, distressed sound because _wtf machi the teaspoon is dangling on the same ring as the tablespoon can’t you see the difference are you BLIND_ is what he really wants to shout but shouting at Machi would not be beneficial for anyone involved. 

Yuki takes a deep breath and gently tugs the ring of measuring spoons back from Machi’s cool fingers before looking down into the pink plastic mixing bowl. 

“It’ll be fine,” Yuki says, reassuring absolutely no one, “You’re right. What really is the difference between a teaspoon and an overflowing tablespoon of salt?”

The silence that hangs in the room is enough of an answer. 

Machi stares into Yuki’s eyes, holding the wooden spoon in her hand, her impassive expression contrasting ludicrously with the frilly lace and pastel pink polka dots of her apron. It’s actually one of Tohru’s apron that was actually a gift from Kagura and while Yuki is sure Tohru would look lovely in it, Machi looks more like a jaded housewife that’s has accepted she has no choice but to kill her husband and run away with his inheritance. 

(Yuki probably shouldn’t be thinking things like that so lovingly but he has more pressing issues to deal with at the moment.)

“We can just add more sugar in then, right?” Machi suggests, breaking the silence. Yuki doesn’t pay any attention to Kakeru’s muffled laughter in the background since Yuki has been resolutely ignoring his existence for the past thirty minutes now. 

“Yeah, okay,” Yuki agrees even though that’s very likely _not_ how baking works but Machi looks very pretty with her hair up in a ponytail, her bangs pinned back with red hair clips but a few strands managing to fall loose anyway. So, there’s that. 

And Yuki lets Machi dump in a whole extra cup of white sugar and (unsuccessfully) tries to convince himself that it doesn’t really matter that the sugar was supposed to be beaten with the butter and eggs and that adding more in now to the dry ingredients will be fine. 

“Next step…” Machi hums, eyes scanning the printed recipe. Yuki was glad that he stuck it in a plastic cover before getting started considering the splatter of vanilla extract and mess of broken eggshells that Machi extracted the page from. 

“Baking powder and hot water,” Machi looks back up at Yuki, eyes looking expectantly up at him. 

“I’ll get some hot water?” Yuki suggests, honestly not knowing what of the basic tasks Machi could mess up more at this point. Machi nods her head in agreement and sets the recipe down to go grab the baking powder.

Yuki waits for the kettle to boil some water, taking a moment to reminisce in the memory of the naive optimism of Yuki from 45 minutes ago who bravely (yet so foolishly) suggested that Machi and he bake some chocolate chip walnut cookies for when Tohru and Kyo come over later that afternoon for tea. 

He should have known it was a bad idea when Kakeru loudly stated he’d just be watching instead of helping but Yuki forgot to question it because he was too busy trying to remember when he even invited Kakeru into his apartment. So yeah, that important cue was missed by Yuki who was busy eyeing the open balcony door, debating the possibility that Kakeru climbed onto the fifth floor vs the possibility Kakeru was a goblin whose only joy on this planet was raising Yuki’s blood pressure. 

The kettle beeps at Yuki, steam escaping from the spout, and Yuki’s daydreams are interrupted. Back to reality, I guess. 

Yuki steels himself for a second before picking it up and returning to the epicentre of the disaster. He kindly hands Machi the kettle with the brightest smile he can muster because Yuki is an adoring boyfriend who doesn’t want his girlfriend (who lacks even the slightest amount of baking talent) to feel bad and lets her handle to next step in hopes of instilling some more enthusiasm and efficacy in her.

“Hey, Machi?” Kakeru speaks up again and Yuki steadfastly does not look over to the right where Kakeru is sitting up on the island counter, most likely filming this entire fiasco. 

“What?” Machi asks, not looking up as she continues to mix the water and baking powder before adding it into the wet ingredients. 

“Weren’t you supposed to add in _baking powder_?” Kakeru asks, voice revealing just how much enjoyment he’s getting from watching all of this. Yuki whips his head to look at the bowl that Machi is half-heartedly mixing with a wooden spoon. 

“...We were out,” Machi offers as an explanation even though it explains pretty much nothing. Yuki picks up the container next to her, turning it around to read the label.

“This is cornstarch,” Yuki says, unable to keep the disbelief out of his voice. 

“They look the same,” Machi blinks at Yuki like _that_ is supposed to make Yuki understand. Yuki briefly wonders if Machi is doing this on purpose, a test to see how far Yuki’s patience lasts or something. Maybe Machi is also a goblin hellbent on stressing Yuki out. 

( _No, Machi’s too cute to be a goblin_ , Yuki’s higher brian functions insist.) 

“Makes sense,” Kakeru nods his head, “they’re both white powders. Totally interchangeable.”

Either Yuki is a masochist for deciding to just keep enduring through this or he’s a sadist for just standing by and letting Machi continue to absolutely mutilate the art of baking. 

_Probably both,_ echoes a cheerful voice inside of Yuki’s head that sounds way too much like Shigure for his liking. 

Somehow, despite Machi accidentally dumping in too much flour in her attempt to sift it, adding in an extra egg yolk to compensate, throwing in some more butter and vanilla, and then adding in like six different types of chocolate because she felt like it... _somehow_ , they manage to finish the cookie dough and put the tray lined with circular dollops into the oven.

(Although there was that oh-so minor issue of Yuki realizing Machi _hadn’t_ taken the frying pans out of the oven before preheating it like he had reminded her to but somehow it ended up being Yuki’s fault for insisting the oven _needed_ to be preheated in the first place.)

As the oven timer ticks down the seconds and minutes, they clean up the rest of the kitchen while the cookies bake in the oven and Yuki’s tension is slowly fading as he washes the utensils, Machi diligently drying them next to him. Well, at least he got to spend some quality (?) time with Machi (and Kakeru, he supposes) and Tohru is bound to bring some sweets of her own and they have milk and tea and everything will be alright. 

(Unless they start a fire and burn Yuki’s apartment down and Yuki isn’t about to dismiss _that_ possibility so he double checks the fire extinguisher is under the sink, mentally going over the safety steps involved in an emergency fire that he learned in high school chemistry. And they say you never learn anything important in high school.) 

The doorbell rings just as Yuki is taking the tray out of the oven, setting it on the silicone trivets laid out on the island counter. Machi goes to answer the door as Kakeru and Yuki peer at the fresh baked cookies, the sweet smell wafting into the air.

“They _look_ normal,” Kakeru comments. And they do, look normal that is. Just a normal batch of chocolate-chip walnut cookies. No evidence of the horrors endured while preparing them. 

“Ooh, it smells so nice in here!” Tohru smiles, skipping into the kitchen, Kyo and Machi trailing behind her. Machi walks over to stand next to Yuki, looking at the cookies with a bit of surprise as Yuki says his greetings. 

“You baked cookies?” Kyo raises an eyebrow and Yuki’s immediate reply is: “Machi did most of the work.” 

(He gets an elbow in the ribs for that one but Yuki takes it as an encouraging sign that Machi also agrees they unquestionably did not do a single step correctly while baking these.)

“Can I try one?” Tohru asks excitedly, leaning over the island counter across from Yuki. 

“Kakeru said he wanted the first one,” Yuki says, with an apologetic smile, even though Kakeru said no such thing but Yuki wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he accidentally ended up poisoning Tohru. 

Kakeru blinks at Yuki in surprise but Yuki uses a cooking spatula to scoop up a cookie off the parchment paper and onto a plate before handing it to Kakeru with his most angelic smile. Machi puts down a glass of cold milk in front of him with a smile too, looking only slightly unnerving in the frilly apron. 

Kakeru lets out a defeated sigh before taking a bite out of the cookie. The room sits in quiet suspense as everyone waits for his reaction. 

“Mmn?” Kaeru makes a surprised sound. He pauses to swallow, “...it’s not that bad?” 

“Really?” Yuki and Machi chorus, both leaning it a bit closer when Kakeru takes another bite. Yuki stares intently at Kakeru’s face trying to decipher whether he’s lying or not. 

“Oh, I can’t wait to try it!” Tohru gushes excitedly, picking up the spatula and using it to divide a cookie in half and handing one half to Kyo to try. 

Yuki turns to look at Machi who gives him a confused shrug and continues to pour milk for everyone. Neither Tohru or Kyo show any signs of being assaulted via poisonous chocolate chip cookies. 

Hesitantly, because Yuki still is not sure that this whole day _isn’t_ just an elaborate prank on him (perhaps Kakeru trying to get back at him for Yuki destroying him in Mario Kart one too many times), Yuki picks up a cookie and breaks it in half, handing one half to Machi who takes it with equal hesitation. 

Yuki takes a bite of the warm, soft cookie; the rich chocolate chips melt in his mouth and the nuttiness of the walnuts pairs nicely with the sweetness of the cookie. It’s _not_ bad. In fact, one may even say it’s actually _good_. 

Yuki and Machi look at each other as they chew, twin looks of surprise and shock on their faces. Machi pops the rest of her half into her mouth, one hand latching onto Yuki’s sleeve like she’s grounding herself to reality. 

It’s only when Yuki sees Kyo grab another cookie that he lets himself relax, finally sure that everyone isn’t just pretending and being nice (because when has Kyo ever lied to Yuki for his sake?) and Yuki’s mostly sure he hasn’t gone delusional to the point of his taste buds hallucinating. 

The rest of the afternoon passes with the usual bickering and chit-chat and a game of Mario Kart in which Yuki destroys both Kakeru and Kyo and Kakeru asks Yuki who's the better player out of those two and Yuki is forced to say Kyo ( _but like only_ marginally _you both suck_ ) which starts _another_ round of bickering and declarations of challenges and Yuki decides putting those two in the same room was the biggest mistake of his life. 

Later, after Machi threatens to throw the game console out the window if Kakeru insists on playing one more match ( _just accept the fact you’re a complete loser, Kakeru)_ , Tohru enthusiastically and so innocently asks what the recipe for the cookies was.

Machi responds with sincere sorrow: “I wish I fucking knew, Tohru.” 

And Kakeru pauses his argument with Kyo about the validity of Toadette, looking over in Machi and Yuki’s direction with a slightly manic grin and that’s how the five of them end up watching the surprisingly well-filmed video of Yuki and Machi ‘baking’. 

Yuki should probably be a little embarrassed or something close to that type of emotion but the confused and mildly horrified looks on Tohru and Kyo’s faces as they watch Machi smash an egg against the counter so hard in splatters in every direction and use a ladle to pour some canola oil have Yuki falling back on the couch in laughter, clutching his stomach as his side begins to cramp up. Kakeru is laughing his head off too while Machi refuses to meet Torhu’s eyes, hiding behind a pillow instead. 

Yuki only stops laughing when Kyo starts yelling at him about _how could you have fed us that?_ and Yuki reminds Kyo that he ate three of them and he thinks he hears Machi apologizing to Tohru who is in turn apologizing for making Machi feel like she needs to apologize and Kakeru is still laughing while Yuki smothers Kyo’s yelling with a pillow, pushing him onto the soft carpet below. 

His neighbour comes banging on the door, telling them to shut up before he calls the police and Machi very sweetly says sorry and offers the older man some cookies in apology and after he leaves looking very much appeased they all start laughing again, faces flushing red and tears leaking from the corners of their eyes. 

For some reason, these are the people Yuki chooses to hang out with but Yuki can’t bring himself to mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and no, there is no world in which whatever chaos yuki and machi created would taste good but we can all pretend miracles exist, right?
> 
> i also stand by my assertation that yuki/machi are that weird, kinda creepy couple that have murder in their eyes when they smile. 
> 
> leave a comment and let me know what your favourite type of cookie is! 
> 
> find me on tumblr @spider-momo of follow my [twitter](https://twitter.com/ochakomochi) if you'd like the recipe that yachi were attempting to follow (i promise it's super good if you actually follow the instructions!)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i'm back. uh, sorry for the delay lol. idk this was just sitting 80% done in my docs for months and i finally got around to finishing it whoops.
> 
> why i chose to write a scene with this many characters, god i don't know.

It does not take Yuki very long at all to decide that this is way too many people and he’s already making plans to drop off the grid and go live in a remote cottage in the woods for the rest of his life so he never has to deal with anything like this ever again. 

They’re at Shigure’s house. Well, in Shigure’s front yard. _They_ being all 14 of the previously cursed Sohmas, Tohru, Uotani, and Hanajima. Because when Tohru excitedly said they’d invite everyone, Yuki didn’t realize she meant _everyone_. 

He supposes it’s spacious enough in front of Shigure’s humble house; enough room for some tables for snacks and refreshments and for all 17 people to spread themselves out sporadically and strategically. 

Uotani has an arm looped around Kureno’s elbow, as the two of them chat with Hanajima, Tohru, and Ritsu who, for once, does not look like he’s two seconds away from a stress-induced aneurysm. Somewhere off to the side, Haru is engaging in an intense game of palm pushing with Kagura (and losing by the looks of it) while Rin watches with mild interest. Or perhaps disinterest. It was hard to tell with Rin. Momiji and Kisa are blowing bubbles at each other while Hiro pretends he’s having the worst time of his life. His older brother is waving a glass around the air with his usual dramatics, nearly spilling it all over Hatori, Shigure, and Akito who stand near the snack table. 

Yuki, of course, has positioned himself as far away from the snack table as possible. 

Yuki had managed his cordial greetings with Akito and then made his escape before the conversation could fizzle out into painful or awkward silence. He used the excuse that it was too hot out (which it was, over 30 degrees and the summer evening showing no signs of cooling down anytime soon) and grabbed a drink before taking refuge in the shade under the front deck. 

Yuki looks over as he hears Ayame’s loud laughter, catching sight of Hatori who looks like he is in need of some alcohol. But there is no alcohol; only water, milk, and pink lemonade. 

Well, at least Yuki _thinks_ it’s pink lemonade. He doesn’t know who brought it but it tastes vaguely of lemonade but also like someone poured four times as much sugar as needed. He looks down at the drink in his hand, swirling the garishly bright pink liquid. It’s probably the brightest pink he’s ever seen, and it clashes in the most horrible way with the autumn-eque orange of Kyo’s hair. 

Yuki announces that revelation, holding his glass of cool pink lemonade next to Kyo’s head, “Your hair is ugly.” Kyo, quite admirably, restrains himself from both yelling and from knocking the drink out of Yuki’s hand and spilling it everywhere. Which is a little sad because that means Yuki has to drink the rest of it.

Kyo glares as Yuki, sipping aggressively from his banana milk carton, and Yuki watches him lazily from where he sits across from Kyo, their backs pressed against two wooden pillars. Yuki sits with his legs stretched out in front of him, while Kyo’s are bent at awkward angles because Kyo has never sat in a comfortable position in his entire life. 

“That’s rich,” Kyo says after swallowing his mouthful of milk, “coming from you and your ugly-ass e-girl haircut,” Kyo leans forward and tugs sharply on Yuki’s bangs and Yuki has to suppress a smile as he swats Kyo’s hand away. 

“Well first, I’m in shock that you even know what an e-girl is. Second, you’re just jealous I can wear the full colour spectrum without looking like a _clown_.” And in testament to how much both of them have grown over the past few years, Kyo simply rolls his eyes at Yuki and turns his head away, eyes falling onto Tohru’s laughing figure. 

It’s a little odd, Yuki supposes, that not only is he sitting with _Kyo_ of all people but he’s also not having the worst time ever. There’s a sense of unspoken camaraderie between the two; Kyo, who is far too unused to Sohma gatherings like this, and Yuki, who reached his limit for Sohma bullshit a long time ago. Neither really are ‘gathering’ people. Not like Tohru, at least, who seems to be hopping from group to group with a cheerful smile, able to interact with anyone. 

At least with Kyo, Yuki knows he doesn’t have to make any polite conversation or keep up fake smiles. Yuki can sit here in silence with his mysterious pink liquid and breath in peace. 

Eventually, their comfortable silence is broken by a groaning Kagura who stumbles their way, wiping sweat off her forehead, having she successfully defeated Haru for all time.

“It’s _so_ hot!” She whines, reaching a hand out for Yuki’s iced drink which he gives up quite willingly. Yuki retracts his legs so Kagura can sit between Kyo and him, watching as she downs the lemonade (?) in a few gulps. 

“Okay,” Kagura says, setting the empty glass down to the side, “what is up with that Hanajima girl? How can she be dressed in all black and not have passed out already?” 

Neither Yuki nor Kyo has an answer for her other than _because she’s Hanajima_. 

Kagura just sighs and fans herself with her hand, “It’s way too hot for this.” Yuki hums in agreement, closing his eyes for a moment. He opens them a few minutes later at the sound of quietly approaching footsteps and sees Kisa standing in front of them holding out a water bottle. She wordlessly hands it to Kagura who smiles and opens it for her.

“Thank you, Onee-chan!” Kisa steps up onto the deck, next to Kagura. Kisa’s eyes end up falling on Kyo’s half-finished banana milk, making no moves to take a sip of her water. Kyo rolls his eyes and pushes the milk carton towards her and Kisa happily abandons her boring water in favour of some yummy banana milk. 

Hiro stomps up to the four of them a few seconds later (because he’s a gremlin who refuses to be over 5 meters away from Kisa), taking a seat in the space between Kyo and Kisa and snapping back at Kagura when she teases him for it. 

Surprisingly enough, Rin also comes to join them too since apparently, she had had enough of the sweltering heat like Kagura. Haru (obviously) follows behind her, choosing to stand and lean against the pillar Yuki has his back pressed against. Rin kicks at Kyo’s legs, grumbling about him taking up too much space. Kyo’s shouts about him being there first fall onto deaf ears as Rin swipes Kisa’s abandoned water bottle and guzzles a third of it down in one go. 

Yuki’s quiet peace with Kyo exists no longer, not with Kagura chattering about everything between the earth and the sky and with Rin, Haru, and Kyo half-heartedly arguing about god-knows-what (Yuki swears he hears the phrase _gothic athleisure-wear_ ), and Hiro and Kisa adding onto both conversation every now and then. But Yuki decides he doesn’t mind _all_ that much. 

Yuki closes his eyes and rests his head back against the pillar, doing his best to ignore the heavyness of the humid air while listening to his relatives talk about the latest show everyone’s streaming or whatever. Yuki isn’t sure how long he sits there in his not-so-quiet peace. But when he hears Momiji’s excited cheers, Yuki cracks open his eyes, squinting at the sudden brightness. 

“Cake! Cake! Cake!” Momiji cheers vivaciously, Haru joining in in his normal monotonous voice. Yuki looks over to where Tohru is getting ready to slice the large vanilla cake decorated with fresh berries and swirls of frosting. Hiro, Kisa, and Kagura have already made their way over to the table where the rest of the party stands while Haru drags along a bored-looking Rin. Yuki jumps a little when he feels a light and swift kick to his thigh. He looks up and sees Kyo standing above him, stretching his arms and back in the wholly cat-like way he always does. 

“Come on. Cake, or whatever,” Kyo nods his head in everyone else’s direction. 

“Right,” Yuki says, standing up onto his feet and trailing behind Kyo. His skin does not appreciate being in the sun again and Yuki absentmindedly wonders if he should have reapplied sunscreen by now. 

Yuki lazily stands next to Haru, the sounds of everyone’s quiet but excited chatter washing over him as they wait for Tohru to cut a slice of cake for each of them. It’s been a normal and amicable event so far, which should have been Yuki’s first clue that the chaos overlords had something up their sleeve. 

He wasn’t paying that much attention, still a little tired and sleepy from his almost-nap in the shade earlier. He hears Momiji’s exuberant voice saying something about how yummy the cake looks, Shigure telling Tohru to cut him a bigger slice, and Uotani and Kyo keeping up their usual banter, this time arguing about who’s helping Tohru hand out the cake. 

“I got it first, Carrots!” 

“Shut up, I already grabbed this slice. Get another one!” There’s scuffling sounds and Kagura chanting _‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’_ and the next thing Yuki knows is he's getting a faceful of vanilla cake and buttercream frosting. 

Yuki screws his eyes shut, face contorting into a grimace as he feels cake slide off his cheek and onto the soft grass at his feet. There’s a hushed silence, minus to soft gasps and muffled giggles, and Tohru’s concerned cry of _“Yuki-kun!”_.

“Whoops,” Uotani winces, as Yuki glares in Kyo and her direction. Yuki feels himself revert to autopilot, hand reaching down and grabbing a fist full of another slice of cake that lay on the table and launching it at the general direction of Uotani and Kyo, not particularly caring which of them it hits. His actions were too sluggish (his body still in shock from taking cake to the face) and they both duck. Instead, the handful of cake hits Shigure who, unfortunately, stood behind them and was too distracted trying to cover up his laughter. 

Well, Shigure’s a little bitch so Yuki isn’t that upset about missing his intended targets. 

“Hey! This shirt is new,” Shigure complains and Tohru is waving her hands around in a panic.

“Who cares? It’s ugly,” Rin deadpans, grabbing a cup of the mysterious pink liquid and splashing it onto Shigure’s shirt as well. 

The bewildered look on Shigure’s face and the bout of delighted cheering is enough to make Yuki forget about being hit with cake and sends him into a fit of laughter, everyone around him joining in. Yuki’s still laughing as Haru swipes a finger at his cheek and tastes the frosting that’s stuck there, complimenting Tohru for her baking skills. By the time Yuki grabs a napkin to clean off the rest, his cheeks feel sore from smiling and laughing. 

Okay, so it wasn’t the _worst_ Sohma gathering he ever attended. Yuki’s skin still feels sticky from the cake and his back is starting to feel sweaty in the worst way possible but the euphoria from the cake and the laughter (and _maybe_ the good company) more than makeup for it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one was a bit more of a mellow chapter but i like how it turned out hehe. i just really want those sohma kids to have a normal, chill time you know? 
> 
> one more chapter left, in which yuki contains his laughter ohoho
> 
> leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! <3
> 
> find me on tumblr @spider-momo of follow my [twitter](https://twitter.com/petiteshoyo)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the last chapter!!!
> 
> sorry this came out way later than i intended oops.
> 
> but what a way to celebrate the end of season 2 :')  
> fruits basket really helped me a lot during all this covid and quarantine mess so i'm a little sad the season is over :(
> 
> anyway, enjoy the last chapter!!

Yuki is not an early riser. In fact, waking up at all is something he finds just overall disappointing and unenjoyable. _Being awoken_ is even worse. That is a fact Yuki is quite certain anyone who has spent any kind of quality time with him is well aware of. 

And yet, here he is, being awoken at some ungodly hour by the most ungodly creature he has ever had the misfortune of encountering. 

“Yun-Yun! Wake up, it’s your birthday!” Kakeru shakes at Yuki’s shoulders, as if him jumping on top of Yuki's sleeping body wasn’t enough to wake him up already. Yuki grasps Kakeru’s wrists in an iron grin as he struggles to open his eyes properly. It’s early. Before sunrise which is too early, judging by the dark greyish light in his room. 

“Happy birthday!” Kakeru continues to be too loud, “I’m the first one who said it right? Midnight texts don’t count, obviously, since you never even respond anyway you horrible texter—”

“Why the fuck are you here?” Yuki closes his eyes again with a prayer that he’s just having a really annoying dream. It’s futile of course. Not even his subconscious would dream up something this annoying. 

“Because it’s your birthday, duh. Keep up, Yuki.” 

Before Yuki can tell Kakeru to get the fuck out more people are entering his room. 

“Yuki, you’re awake.” Yuki squints in the dim light, seeing Haru and Rin standing in the doorway, a party hat on top of Haru's head.

“Well, this is more homoeroticism than I was expecting to see this early in the day,” Rin drawls and Yuki can’t see her face that clearly but he’s pretty sure she’s got that smug, taunting smirk on her face. Her statement makes Yuki realize that he still is holding Kakeru’s wrists in a grip that is likely a little painful and is currently being straddled by Kakeru as well. _Way_ too homoerotic for a Sunday morning. 

“Please,” Kakeru grins merrily, “if this _really_ was homoerotic I’d already be balls deep in—” Yuki brings a leg up and kicks Kakeru in the stomach, successfully pushing him off and sending him tumbling to the ground with a loud _thump._

Yuki sits up, his blanket pooling around his waist, and rubs his eyes a bit, now far too lucid to harbour any hopes of this being a dream. 

“Why are you guys here?” Yuki asks again, a familiar tiredness settling in his bones. 

“It’s your birthday! Happy Birthday, Yuki!” A chipper Momiji hops over to Yuki’s beside, politely stepping over the groaning heap Kakeru on the floor.

“Thank you?” Yuki mumbles, mostly out of polite habit, as Momiji slaps a party hat onto his head. 

“It’s a surprise! Are you surprised? Tohru and the others are waiting downstairs,” Momiji continues, bouncing excitedly on Yuki’s bed.

“Huh?” Yuki blinks, still very unsure exactly what is happening. 

“Get dressed loser, we’re celebrating your birthday,” Rin rolls her eyes before spinning on her heels and marching out of the room. 

“Happy Birthday,” Haru waves before following her. 

“I said it first, right?” Momiji slides off the bed. Yuki eyes Kakeru who slowly sits up, rubbing his stomach with a pout. 

“Yep, you said it first. Thank you, Momiji.” 

“Liar!” Kakeru whines. 

“I’ll be ready in ten minutes,” Yuki promises Momiji, not wanting to keep the others waiting any longer, and heads to the bathroom without sparing Kakeru another glance. 

Yuki is fairly sure whatever they have planned will be nothing short of a full-on Sohma Disaster Outing, but Yuki had learned a long time ago he does not have much of a choice when it comes to these things. 

* * *

Yuki stares up at the pale sky, eyes watering slightly when a breeze blows past. The streets are only illuminated by the flickering street lamps and the dim pre-dawn glow. The world looks so different like this, Yuki muses. 

All soft greys and pale blues. Chilly and quiet. It’s peaceful. 

Yuki feels a weight brush against his arm and looks down to see a stumbling Machi walking beside him.

“Sleepy?” he asks, interlocking his slim fingers with her smaller ones. 

“Mm,” Machi nods sharply, leaning in closer. “Wasn’t my idea though,” she clarifies before Yuki can point out that there really was no _need_ for all of them to be up this early. Yuki looks up ahead of them where Kakeru struggles to put a party hat on top of Kyo’s head while Tohru and Momiji giggle together, Haru and Rin egging Kakeru on. 

It’s an odd group of people, Yuki thinks. A very odd group of people who all woke up before the crack of dawn to celebrate his birthday apparently. 

“Where are we going?” Yuki calls out; a well-timed question because Kyo looks two seconds away from throwing Kakeru into the foliage. 

“Waffles!” Momiji cheers.

“Waffles?” Yuki tilts his head to the side, trying to decipher what that means. It’s still some time before 5 AM and Yuki isn’t sure what kind of waffle place would be open already. Nobody offers him any further explanation though and the group of eight continues walking down the quiet street. Yuki notes that they’re not headed towards town though, as they turn into some walking trails that are surrounded by thick trees. It’s even darker here, only a tiny amount of light reaching the forest floor. Everything is green and shadowy; birds chirp and flutter above them and Yuki can hear the rush of water from a nearby creek. 

There’s something very serene about being here so early in the day, before the world has fully awoken. Yuki’s curiosity about where they’re headed is washed away by the awe of the beautiful sights before him. 

Eventually, however, the trees start to look a little familiar. But Yuki’s pretty sure they aren’t walking in circles and he has enough faith in Kyo at the very least not to get them lost in the woods. 

It’s not until they walk into a clearing and a familiar sight reaches Yuki’s eyes that he regrets waking up at all. 

“We’re home again,” Yuki blinks when he sees Shigure’s house. Did they really wake him up at 4 AM just to take a thirty-minute walk in the forest around Shigure’s house? 

“I’m hungry,” Kyo announces, continuing towards the house.

“Same.”

“Why’s it so humid?” 

“Tohru, where’d you leave the stuff?”

“I’ll grab it! You guys go on ahead!”

“Yay!”

“Come on, Yuki!” Kakeru nudges Yuki’s shoulder before brushing past him. 

Yuki looks at Machi, his final hope for some sort of clarification. Unfortunately, Machi wordlessly loops her arm around his bicep and drags him towards the other, and Yuki is left as confused as he was when he was first awoken. 

Ten minutes later he finds himself sitting on the roof of Shigure’s house, a round waffle in one hand and Tohru pouring some piping hot cocoa into the cup in his other hand. They all lounge on top of the roof, waiting for the sunrise. Something about Yuki’s birthday being a special day that he shouldn’t waste away by sleeping in. And here Yuki thought that people were usually allowed to sleep in on their birthdays. The waffles are a nice touch though and Tohru’s beaming smile when he tells her so is even nicer. 

The sky is getting lighter and lighter as the sun finally begins to emerge, peaking out at the horizon; its arrival is honoured by serenading Yuki with an off-key rendition of _Happy Birthday,_ half of them sing too loudly and jubilantly, the other half grumbling the words out around a mouthful of waffle. 

Yuki is at least sure they’ve woken Shigure up in a wholly unpleasant manner, which is a gift of its own. 

The singing ends with a bout of clapping and cheering and Yuki smiles a little as he takes a sip of his cocoa. It’s chocolatey and creamy but not too sweet, just like he likes it. 

“Smile!” Yuki turns his head to the right. Kakeru is shoving a hand camera in his face and it goes off with a bright flash, momentarily blinding Yuki. 

“Aw, you didn’t smile,” Kakeru grumbles as he checks the photo on the display.

“How could I when you’re shoving that thing in my face?” Yuki mutters, blinking away the dark spots. 

Kakeru tries again, aiming the camera from a respectable distance this time. Yuki, still bitter from having been awoken this morning, keeps his face perfectly blank and ignores him.

“Yun- _Yun,_ ” Kakeru whines, “Come on. One smile! It’s your birthday, after all.” 

Yuki, like a petulant child, looks away. 

(There is some saying about acting like a child and in turn being treated like one.)

“Yuuuuuuki,” Kakeru tries to cajole him.

Yuki ignores him.

“Yukiiiiiiii…Yuki...Yun-Yun...Yuki-kun...Yun-chan...Princess Yuki…”

“Just smile for the damn picture,” Kyo rolls his eyes, stretching his arms and laying on his back. Yuki wasn’t afraid of heights or of being on top of the roof, but it was a little unsettling just how carefree Kyo was with being up high. 

“Just one picture Yuki!” Momiji adds, shuffling closer. 

Yuki, too busy wondering what would happen if Kyo just rolled off the edge of the roof, doesn’t register his words and his continued refusal to smile is taken as a challenge. 

“Yuki! Smile for the camera!”

“Look here Yuki!”

“Aw, he’s so shy.” 

Yuki’s eyebrow twitches slightly, finding it increasingly difficult to maintain his frigid ice prince face of blankness as his friends continue to coo and sweet talk him, like parents trying to get their baby to look at the camera. 

“Yukiiiii” They all continue to poke and prod at him, except for Machi who silently laughs into her waffle. It escalates, as Sohma-related things usually do, and Yuki is being held down, the tiles of the roof digging into his back, as deft fingers tickle at his ribs, the stupid camera still aimed at his face. 

Yuki bites his cheek, mostly refusing to smile or laugh out of spite now. 

“You guys are gonna make him cry,” Rin taunts him further. 

“Just smile and it’ll all be over,” Kakeru promises, his finger ready to snap a picture the second Yuki does.

“Fuck you,” Yuki manages to spit out, squirming as he tries to escape the torturous hands of his friends. 

Regrettably, Yuki cannot contain his laughter forever, try as he might with all his might. 

Over the sound of his own laughter, Yuki hears cheering and applause and the click of the camera going off. 

“You guys suck,” Yuki says half-heartedly, staring up at the colours that paint the morning sky: pastel blue and pale purple that blend into creamy peach and vibrant orange. It’s pretty. It may almost be worth waking up early to see a sight like this. 

The camera click goes off several more times as everyone takes more pictures. Of the sky, of each other, of the half-eaten waffle that lies pathetically on the grass below, where it fell to the ground earlier. Yuki, surrounded by his friends, watches and listens to the world slowly wake up.

“Did you have fun?” Tohru asks him earnestly a few minutes later as they start to pick up the cups and napkins littered around the roof.

“Yeah,” Yuki says truthfully, “Thank you.” 

And he is thankful. So, so thankful to have these crazy weirdos that don’t seem to ever grow tired of Yuki, that don’t make Yuki wish he was someone else, _something_ else. These people who care enough about Yuki to wake up at a grotesquely early hour and walk through the damp forest floor just to keep up the suspense of the silly surprise they had planned for Yuki’s birthday. 

Later, they climb off of the roof and go inside and Tohru starts making a proper breakfast once Shigure complains about them not saving any waffles for him and Yuki ends up falling asleep in the living room despite the loud chatter around him. 

It’s a good birthday. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @ anyone who was thought the +1 chapter would be ~angsty~...sorry no angst, only yuki loving hours here.
> 
> this was my first fruba fic and my first 5 + 1 fic (which are way harder to write than i expected!!) and it's finally done!
> 
> thank you to everyone who read and left kudos and comments, you guys really made my day! 
> 
> hope everyone is doing well! <3 
> 
> find me on tumblr @spider-momo or follow my [twitter](https://twitter.com/petiteshoyo)


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